Polyjuice, Dear Harry
by MegaNerdAlert
Summary: Harry Potter wasn't the only member of his family to have an adventure with Polyjuice Potion...


**Polyjuice, Dear Harry.**

_Late one night at the end of July..._

Lily Potter groaned as the contractions worsened. Her husband, James stood by her side, holding both of their wands. She had already tried to hex him twice, and that had been enough for him. Lily could feel the child inside her, yearning to make his entrance.

Albus Dumbledore stood silently on the other side of the room, in the company of a green looking Sirius Black, a wide eyed Remus Lupin, and a more than ever cowering Peter Pettigrew. Lily could understand all of their current postures, with the exception of Peter. Lately, he'd become more absent in their lives, and when he was around, he still seemed – well different.

Another contraction directed Lily's thoughts back to the task at hand. "It's almost time, dear," the healer said, casting another spell to lessen the pain the woman knew Lily was in. "Okay, push!"

Lily pushed. And for the next fifteen minutes, that was all that she did, until at last, her son was born. Sighs of relief came from each person in the room as newborn Harry James Potter let out his first cries. The healer placed the infant in his mother's arms, and Lily looked up to see James smiling. "Hey Padfoot," he said. "Come over here and see my son! You too Moony, Wormy."

The other three Mauraders approached the bed, and took their first looks at Harry. Albus followed, offered his regards, and then insisted that he had business to attend to and left. Lily half smiled as she looked at the infant, the son that James Potter didn't realize wasn't his.

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

_Just over a year later..._

James Potter was on babysitting duty tonight. Lily had left Harry in his care while she spend the evening out with some friends. Harry was currently squealing in protest at being picked up by his godfather, Sirius Black. Normally Harry was quite happy to be held by Sirius but tonight did not look a thing like Sirius – he looked like Lily. With the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named raging, and something about a prophecy regarding a child born last year at the end of July, as Harry had been Albus Dumbledore had been adamant that James take his family into hiding.

Neither he nor Lily were very good about remaining confined, so Padfoot had agreed to use Polyjuice Potion to change into either Lily or James, so that one or the other could go out and have some fun without risking someone realizing that they were not in the safety of Potter Manor. They knew they were being watched.

"Padfoot just let him be," James said to his closest friend. "How about a game of chess?"

Sirius gave up on trying to handle Harry and walked over to where James was sitting. "I don't know how you ever talked me into changing into a girl," he said in Lily's voice. "You realize that you're giving me a better look at Lily than you'll ever get shagging her? This is gross."

"I know you wont make a pass on my wife, so I don't care how much you get to know her physical aspects," James replied. "And so far as when you're me...well, you already know my body well enough." James swung both ways, and Sirius was gay. The two had fooled around when they were in school, and that was part of the reason that James trusted Sirius above all others. They still did, when they got the chance.

"True enough," Sirius replied.

Just then there was a loud blast, and the front door exploded. James looked over at Harry, who had cocked his head at the sound, almost like he was curious. He did not appear to be frightened, though James was. Both he and Sirius jumped up, wands in hand. "Get Harry!" James yelled. "Get him and get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you James!" Sirius yelled in reply, as several Death Eaters filed into the house, followed by Voldemort, and...

"Peter?" James asked in shock.

"I...I'm sorry James," the Maurador said. "I had no choice."

There was a flash of green light, and James Potter knew no more.

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

Lily Potter, under the appearance of Sirius Black, turned the corner toward Potter Manor, and let out a gasp as she saw her home in ruins. She rushed forward, looking in the rubble carefully, for any signs of her husband and son. She found Sirius first, and threw up at seeing her own likeness wide eyed and unmoving. James was only inches away, and she saw that he was holding tightly to Sirius' hand. She's always known they had a history together, but hadn't realized that it had lingered into their marriage.

She found Harry next, squirming beneath a large body. Lily pushed the body off her son, and let out a gasp as she saw the face of Lord Voldemort. She knew the only way that the Dark Lord could have found them was if their secret-keeper, Peter, had betrayed them. Lily clenched her jaw, heart wrenched between a desire to protect her son, and a desire to exact revenge upon Peter.

Just then, she heard heavy footfalls behind her, and turned to see Hagrid, the Hogwarts Game-Keeper, coming into sight with tears staining his face. "Sirius!" Hagrid wailed. "What happened?"

Lily remembered that she did still appear to look like Sirius. Tears were pouring out of her own eyes, as she picked Harry up from the rubble, and handed him to Hagrid. As much as she hated the idea, she knew that she was not fit to raise her own son. "Take Harry to Albus," she choked. "Take the motor bike, it parked around back. I...I...have to go do something."

It only took Lily a few hours to locate Peter. There they stood, wands drawn, when Lily suddenly realized that there were Aurors beginning to arrive, mingling carefully in the large crowd of Muggles.

"Sirius, why?" Peter yelled, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Why James and Lily?"

Lily stood, taking a moment to realize that Peter was trying to frame Sirius for his own crime. She raised her wand, laughing, knowing that Peter had just framed himself. In a few hours, she would change back to normal, and all the Aurors here could attest to the fact that Peter had tried to pin the crime on someone else. She was an accomplished Witch, and did not bother verbalizing her spell, which was merely a stunner. At the same time her wand fired, there was an explosion of magic and Lily found herself on the ground, wounded. She looked up for Peter, but found no sign.

Two of the Aurors, both also mildly injured. "Get up, Black," one of them said gruffly. "You are under arrest for the murders of James and Lily Potter, and of Peter Pettigrew."

Lily was shocked, but laughed again. Peter had planned this all along, it had been a trap. She had no idea where the least of her husband's school friends had scurried off to, but she knew he was out there. If he had manged to kill James and Sirius, and get her locked in Azkaban, Lily realized that somehow, Voldemort would be back. And until he did, she had to stay Sirius Black. To the eyes of the world, even to her own son, she'd have to 'play dead'.

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

Severus Snape was upset. Beyond upset. Dumbledore had sworn to protect Lily, and her family, and now she was dead, and her infant son was being carted to to be raised by his Muggle aunt and uncle. Today he was going to face Sirius Black, the man responsible for Lily's death. Black was now doomed to spend rest of his days in Azkaban, but for another few hours he was merely held captive at the Ministry, and Severus was taking this chance to face his old school nemesis.

When Severus walked into the cell, he was rather surprised by the look on Black's face. It was not fear, it was not anger...it was hope, and happiness. "Severus," Black said quietly.

"I would really love to kill you, Black," Severus sneered. "After what you did to Lily."

Black stood up, and walked up very close to Severus. "Severus, I'm not Sirius Black. Sirius is dead, along with James, under the guise of Polyjuice. Peter betrayed us."

Severus' jaw fell, as he put together the pieces of what he was hearing. "Lily?" he asked slowly.

"Yes, Sev, it's me."

"Sweet Merlin," Severus breathed. "You were out that night. You traded appearances to Black so no one would know."

Black – or rather Lily nodded. "I'm going to go to Azkaban, as Sirius. I need you to keep me supplied with Polyjuice. I need to stay there until we can figure out why Peter did this. I don't think Voldemort is really finished."

Severus hated every single word of what she said, but he accepted that she was right. "They sent Harry to your sister's place."

Lily swore. "Can't you just..."

"Not if you honestly think Voldemort is still out there," Severus answered.

Lily nodded. "You should go. Please look after Harry, when he comes to Hogwarts. Any luck he'll go to Slytherin."

Severus shook his head, pained. "It would be better for him to be a Gryffindor, we can't afford anyone to suspect until Voldemort is surely dead and gone."

"I love you, Severus," Lily said quietly, as he turned to leave.

Severus thought for a moment about the affair they'd begun, even before she had married James. He was a Death Eater, and she was fighting against Voldemort, and both knew it would never work between them. They let a double life, her married to James, him working for Voldemort, but met as often as they could. When Harry had been conceived, Severus knew it was a toss up between him and James as to who was the father. That was a toss up that Severus won. Harry was his son, but James had raised him up till now. Lily had refused to leave James, no matter what, so long as Severus was still working for Voldemort in any way.

Severus looked back at Lily, ignoring that she looked like the man he hated most. "I love you too," he said, and he left without another word.

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

_Almost thirteen years later...._

Severus was doing all he could do to maintain his acting abilities in the presence of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Lupin, and Lily, who thanks to him was still under the guise of Sirius Black. All year he'd been helping her in and out of the castle, right under everyone's nose. Harry had that much right anyway, however much he knew he had to deny it.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Severus shouted. This moment had been planned be he and Lily weeks ago. They had to make it look like Severus hated Black, which was easy because Severus did hate the real Black, even though he was long ago dead.

In the course of this year, Lily and Severus had outwitted everyone, including Dumbledore. The only exception was Remus. In the process of proving it had been Peter, not Sirius, who'd betrayed Lily and James – which Lily had insisted they had to do. In order to beat Voldemort, Harry was going to need a father figure more than a mother in his life, and through Black's body, Lily could do that. She also wanted a chance to get to know her son a little better before they dropped everything on him, which would have to be after the war was over anyway. With as well as Severus and Harry got along, that was going to be a difficult conversation when and if they ever got there.

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

_Four years after that, the War is over..._

Severus smiled. He was in Hogsmead, waiting for Lily to arrive. Today, he would be seeing her for the first time as Lily, since before the day she'd supposedly died. Sirius Black was now dead totally, both truly, as he had been since Harry was an infant, and in body as he had since the incident at the Ministry.

The Veil in the Department of Mysteries was much less complex than anyone knew. People had been trying to figure it out for years, but Lily had found the answer to what it was while going though some of the old Snape vaults in her spare time. They'd found that it worked just like the Floo Network, and in fact had been the basis of the Floo Network, but it did not require any powder to activate, and it could go through wards of any kind, and best yet, was the ultimate healing tool. Anyway who went though it, even if they were moments from death, were healed, no questions asked. The problem with it was that if you stepped into it without knowing the spells to direct you to where you wanted to go, or begin the healing process, you merely lingered there in nothingness for all eternity, which was why some people were able to hear voices around it, particularly those who had witnessed death.

After 'falling through the Veil', Lily had merely gone to Muggle London, stopped using the Polyjuice, and become Lily again. Blending into Muggle society had been easy enough, and she had spent the last two years hiding that way, until the war was over. Severus, after being bitten by that damn snake of Voldemort's, had apperated himself to the Veil, healed, and claimed to everyone else the Dumbledore's phoenix had paid him a lucky visit and healed him.

It had been two years since he'd seen Lily, and almost a month since Voldemort had at last been destroyed. Harry was fine, and actually being a bit nicer to Severus, due to the fact that, Harry finally realized, he was a good guy after all. Severus wasn't sure how he was going to take to the idea that Severus was really his father though.

The door to Hog's Head opened slowly, and Severus looked up. There she was, looking older of course, but still beautiful, and still Lily. He got up and rushed over to her, picking her up and spinning her around. Their lips met, and they kissed passionately for the first time in over seventeen years. The people in the bar looked up, most of them who knew Severus, and they all stared. Someone dropped a glass and as it shattered on the ground, the couple broke apart.

"Hello Severus," Lily beamed.

"Lily," he said, smiling. "I've missed you." They'd exchanged letters in the last two years, but had not met. It was just too risky for her to be seen in the Wizard world until the War was over.

"Lily?"

Both Severus and Lily turned to face Rosmerta, the bar tender there. Lily had frequented Hog's Head as a student, and later, so it was no surprise that Rosmerta recognized her, despite the changes age had done.

"Yes, Rosmerta, it's me," Lily said. "Long story."

Rosmerta grabbed Lily into a hug. "Merlin! Does Harry know? Where have you been? You're supposed to be dead!"

Severus answered. "As Lily said, Rosmerta, it's a long story, and no, Harry does not know as of yet. There's a lot Harry does not know that he'll be finding out shortly."

Rosmerta looked at Severus carefully. "Oh Merlin," she breathed. "Harry's not..."

Lily shook her head. "No, Harry is not James' son. Severus is Harry's real father."

Rosmerta took a seat, slowly. "Well, if I were you, I'd go find Harry quickly, because this is not going to stay quiet for very long, and that poor boy better damn well find out the truth from you."

Lily took a deep breath, and Severus put his arm around her. "We know, we're going."

o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o--------o

Harry Potter started in astonishment at the parchment in his hand which had just been delivered to the Burrow, via Owl.

_Harry,_

_Kindly come to my office at Hogwarts, as soon as you get this. I have something very important to discuss with you, and someone who would like to see you. You will find the Burrow and my office have been connected in the Floo Network. Please don't bring your sidekicks._

_Severus Snape_

"Hermione, Ron, check this out!" Harry called.

Hermione and Ron both walked over to where he was sitting on the garden bench, and stared at the parchment in their friend's hand.

"Harry, he called you Harry," Hermione noted. "That's...odd."

Ron laughed. "Don't bring your sidekicks? Blimey, that sounds bad."

Harry shrugged. "What do I do?"

"Go," Hermione said. "See what he wants. If you're not back within an hour and we don't hear from you, we'll come to the rescue. Remember, Snape was on our side in the end. He might just want to have a heart to heart."

Ron grunted. "This is Snape we're talking about."

Harry stood, and started walked toward the house. Molly met them at the door. "Harry, where are you going?"

"Hogwarts," Harry said. "Snape wants to see me."

Molly gulped. "Oh dear."

"What? You know what he wants?" Harry asked, suddenly alert to Molly's concerned eyes.

"I heard a rumor," Molly said, "But...well if it's not true, it's not worth mentioning, and if it is...well I think you're about to find out for yourself. I love you Harry, no matter what, alright dear?"

Harry was certainly puzzled by this behavior, but knew by the look in her eyes she would say no more. "Okay, I'll be back soon."

Harry stepped into the fireplace, Floo Powder in hand. "Hogwarts, Snape's Office!" he said clearly. Moments later, he was crawling out of Snape's own fireplace, and into the Potions Master's office. Snape was standing there, waiting with a woman. Harry almost laughed at the sight of her wrapping her arm around Snape's waist, until he suddenly realized she looked familiar. Very familiar. Like ghost familiar...

"Mum?" he croaked, unsure of what and who he was seeing.

The woman stepped further into the light, and there was no longer in doubt in Harry's mind. "Yes, Harry, it's me. I'm not dead."

Harry felt his knees buckle, and moments later he realized that Snape had grabbed him, and escorted him to a chair. "Easy, Harry, take it easy. I know that this is a bit of a shock."

Harry pulled away from Snape. "What the hell do you have to do with all this? And why do you keep calling me Harry?"

Lily was kneeling beside him. "Harry, you're not...you're not really a Potter. James was the last of that bloodline."

Harry looked from his...mother, to Snape, and recalled the arm she had wrapped around his waist when he'd gotten there. It couldn't be... "Are you saying..."

Lily took Harry's hand and nodded. "Yes Harry, Severus is your father. James never knew, not that he would have cared much."

"What do you mean?" Harry demanded. "If my wife was cheating on me I'd me pretty mad."

"Harry, James was unfaithful as well, but I didn't realize that until after he was dead. I'm not saying it was right of me to cheat on him, but it's always been Severus who's had my heart. We just couldn't be together because of the war, and Sev's position in it."

"Who was...James shagging?" Harry asked carefully.

"Sirius," Lily said.

"Sirius?" Harry asked slowly. What was he missing?

"The man you got to know in the last few years as Sirius Black was really me. I'm the one who spent all those years in Azkaban. The night James died, Sirius and I were both under the effect of Polyjuice, in each other's form. Sirius died, appearing to be me. I went after Peter, appearing to be Sirius. I kept being Sirius until I disappeared, two years ago."

"Merlin," Harry said. "Who else knows? You can't have done this on your own, no offense."

Severus – his father answered. "I was in on it since the beginning. I had gone to see who I thought was Black before he was sent to Azkaban. I discovered that it was not Black, but Lily, and we decided to keep it that way. If Voldemort had found out Lily was still alive, it would have been a risk to you. We knew he'd be back, even then, and we knew the prophecy said you had to live in order to finish Voldemort off. Until the year your mother escaped Azkaban, it was just us who knew. Sirius, aka Padfoot, was really a Tiger animagis, and the only other person who knew that was Remus. You mother is also an animagis, and she's the dog, another 'padfoot' so to speak. It was easy to explain, in the aspects of the Maurader's Map and nicknames. We talked to Remus, and he agreed to keep our secret, and helped from then on out. It was just the three of us."

"And now Remus is dead," Harry commented. "I'm glad he at least got to talk to you before he died."

"I'm glad as well," Lily replied.

Harry was overwhelmed. On one hand, he was crushed to think that his mother had cheated on his...on her husband. On the other hand, he was thrilled that his mother was alive and well. On the other hand, he was downright pissed she'd pretended to be Sirius like that, and for so long. Why couldn't she just tell him back then? On the other hand, Snape was now his father and that was not who he would have ever picked. On the other hand, he now had two parents, real parents. Merlin, he needed Ron and Hermione. "Can my 'sidekicks' come over now? They're never going to believe me unless they see for themselves."

As long as you keep them from hexing me," Snape replied. "Son."

Harry shivered at the word 'son'. That was going to take some getting used to. A lot of getting used to. He got up and walked to the fireplace. "I'll be right back," he said. "The Burrow!"

Moments later, he was back in the Burrow kitchen, where Ron and Hermione were waiting, looking anxious, and Molly was waiting, looking nervous. Harry glared at Molly. "Thanks for the warning."

Molly paled. "It's true? She's alive? And with..."

Harry sighed, and glanced at his friends. "Turns out my mum's alive, and Snape is really my father," he said plainly.

"Sweet Merlin," Molly gasped. "I was sure it was just talk!"

Ron's eyes were wider than Harry had ever seen them. Hermione chuckled. "I always thought you looked a bit like Professor Snape but I never dared say anything. Harry, this is wonderful. You have parents."

Harry shook his head, astonished at Hermione's way of accepting things, if not predicting things, that most people would gape at.. "Come on, you two. I want you to meet my mum, without the Polyjuice."


End file.
